This leaves plenty of cap space to make more splashes in free agency. It is definitely a team friendly deal from what I am hearing. I'll share the structure as soon as I can get to it. Now it's time to bring back Jimmy Graham after his stint to learn blocking from the Seahawks.

Talked more with Saints QB Drew Brees about his new deal: “There was no doubt in our minds, I think both myself and the Saints, that we were gonna get a deal done. It was just a matter of what was the most fair deal for me and for the team to put us in the best position to succeed in the near future.” Brees said he would be “lying” if he didn’t admit it’s hard to decide between taking max value and keep raising the bar for other players (especially as a former NFLPA leader). “But for me this was about putting our team in the best position to go win a championship in the next few years.” And he practically apologized to agent Tom Condon for not allowing him to max out his value – which certainly would have been more on the open market.

I'm not seeing tons of cap room even with the retirement of Strief and Fleener likely getting cut. Will have to wait to see the exact terms before I know just how much restructuring your guys will have to be submitted to. You guys always seem to fuck the cap up in strange and unusual ways, so it will be fun to see what you do this year to top previous ones.

Just signed CB Patrick Robinson who has become an elite slot corner, just what the Saints needed.

And Kurt Coleman fits our scheme perfectly and can play both safety positions which gives the defense more flexibility. His 2018 cap hit is only $1.8 million. With convertible roster bonuses the Saints still had $17 million in free cap space. They also have $24 million in allocated 2018 cap between Cam Jordan and Terron Armstead that can be quickly restructured if they want to dive headfirst into the free agent pool.

Not surprised. You guys love bringing in washed-up players and overpaying them, only to let them go with you holding the bag on guaranteed cash. You're due at least one more after overpaying for Robinson and Davis.

Davis is coming off a career year in which he finally matured and applied himself. From all reports coming back to the Jets was what he needed to move to the next level. Robinson was the 5th rated slot corner in the NFL this past season and the slot was the biggest weakness for the Saints' secondary last season. These two additions are substantial upgrades. They will easily be worth every penny. Be afraid. The defending NFC South champs are getting even better for 2018.

Of course, I can really appreciate your expertise in evaluating the Saints roster. You have correctly predicted the decline and/or exit of Brees for the last half a decade.

Adam Schefter on Twitter: "Chicago’s decision to not match offer sheet that WR Cameron Meredith signed with the Saints was mainly a medical decision. Meredith is coming off a torn ACL and MCL, and Bears were hesitant to commit that much to a player coming off such a serious knee injury."

Nick Underhill✔@nick_underhill Meredith wouldn’t give an exact date on when he’ll be ready, but later added that his goal is to be ready by training camp. “I see myself being 100 percent for at least the season. Training camp is my goal, and I don’t see any reason why I can’t accomplish that.”

7:27 PM - Apr 11, 2018

Meredith missed all of last season to fully recover. He was injured in week 14 of 2016. The interesting thing is that Chicago signed Allen Robinson, who is also coming off the same injury, for $42 million, so fear of a past injury was bullshit since Merideth has had eight months longer to recover than Robinson (injured week one 2017). Chicago thought they could float Merideth by on a minimum RFA and lost the gamble.

In only his second year in 2016, Merideth started out with 77 catches and 888 yards in less than 14 games. At 6'3" 200 lbs, he is a big presence opposite Michael Thomas, and in the slot, that will make the Saints' 2017 2nd ranked offense even that much more unstoppable.

Some things change BIG TIME. The Saints have been nailing free agency and the draft ever since Jeff Ireland came on board as Assistant GM. I'll give you that there were some very bad personnel moves prior to that point, but the Saints have had two straight killer drafts (with 2018 being one of the best in the NFL for many years) and free agency has been equally successful. Even with all of their moves the Saints are still sitting on around $16 million in available 2018 cap space ($6M free/$10M convertible roster bonus) and the near future caps look even better.

Speaking of cap space, I see that the Falcons have officially entered the realm of "cap hell". Currently sitting at 29th in the league in available cap (top 51 player - $3.6M) and still having to extend Ryan, who has the same agent as Brees, Tom Condon. He's going to be asking for the same kind of deal for Ryan that you said killed the Saints.

Mark Ingram receives four game suspension for violation of the PED policy. Curious to see what triggered that. Looks like we'll get a better look at Boston Scott at RB. It also greatly shifts leverage in the upcoming contract negotiation with Ingram's agent.